Story here. Jacklyn “Jack” Lucas. He was 14 when he lied about his age to get into World War II.
“Lucas was just six days past his 17th birthday in February 1945 when his heroism at Iwo Jima earned him the nation’s highest military honor. He used his body to shield three fellow squad members from two grenades, and he was nearly killed when one exploded.”
RIP, Jack. 
Holy cow!
And then:
My blog entry, he was local to DC for a number of years, but died in Mississippi. Oddly the LA Times has the first obit. I presume the Washington Post will pick it up tomorrow.
Guy was more than a little aggressive.
I’ve often wondered if I’d have the courage to shield someone else like that, but I don’t honestly think I would. I’d probably have been killed anyway, trying to get out of the trench. Damn, just…damn. I hope he rests in peace.
Oh No, my daughter will be heartbroken. She’s in JrROTC at her school and he came there to speak to the class and she was able to meet and speak with him directly. There was some kind of connection to the father of one of her friends and my daughter had actually emailed back and forth with Jack several times. He was very responsive and that meant so much to her. She did a really great report on him for a “My American Hero” assignment. She had told me recently that he’d been diagnosed with cancer, I believe, and she thought he’d fight it like he’d fought everything else. He has quite a story and it’s worth a read if you’re not acquainted with it.
Thank you, Jack, for being a hero in more ways than one.